According to Verizon Business’ Sixth Annual State of Small Business Survey, almost three-fourths (72%) of business decision-makers who upgraded their technology stack this past year say they’ve addressed challenges and led to positive business outcomes. Despite this positive outlook, many businesses remain mindful of broader market dynamics. Given this dichotomy, businesses would do well to take this opportunity to invest in technology that would help them build operational resilience and maintain competitive advantages.
5G and Operational Efficiency
Contractors and field operations companies, such as plumbing and heating businesses, face evolving market and economic pressures. The rising costs of raw materials like copper, steel, and other metals have impacted essential equipment, such as HVAC systems. Additionally, increased transportation and logistics costs have created ripple effects on labor expenses and service costs. As a result, contractors are operating with tighter margins and seeking ways to optimize their operations.
While businesses cannot control external market forces or material costs, they can improve operational efficiency. Enhanced connectivity and emerging technologies can help streamline field service operations to improve productivity and maintain healthy profit margins. Faster, secure connectivity offers new ways to improve field service operations, including route optimization, real-time assistance, predictive maintenance, and asset tracking.
Route and Schedule Optimization
5G-enabled applications provide businesses with real-time data and location information to optimize scheduling and route planning. This allows for a comprehensive overview of technicians and queued jobs, enabling businesses to allocate appropriate time for service calls and prevent redundancies such as double-bookings. Consequently, personnel hours are increased, boosting overall productivity and resource utilization. Route optimization not only facilitates more appointments but also enhances operational fuel efficiency, helping to mitigate rising fuel costs.
Predictive Maintenance
In many ways, 5G is a force multiplier, allowing businesses to scale up and adopt technologies that allow them to do more, such as artificial intelligence (AI). As powerful as AI can be, it is a very compute-intensive technology, which is why 5G, with its greater speed and capacity, synergizes so well with AI-powered solutions.
While only 33% of construction companies currently use AI tools, those that do are finding significant operational advantages. AI solutions, coupled with IoT sensors, can monitor vehicles and equipment to anticipate and prevent failure. Proactive upkeep extends the lifecycle ofmachines and reduces downtime. As such, vehicles can stay on the road longer while running more smoothly. The same goes for equipment. It’s easier to maintain than to fix or replace.
Enhanced Real-Time Support
Even expert technicians require assistance occasionally. Enhanced connectivity now provides real-time support that was previously impossible. High-fidelity video and audio calls enable subject matter experts to assist technicians on-site, reducing the need for additional service calls, which saves time and resources. High-quality training videos and other materials also serve as valuable on-demand resources.
Advanced AR and VR tools facilitate remote guidance, helping technicians visualize machinery's internal mechanisms. This improves diagnostics and streamlines troubleshooting for malfunctions or other issues through detailed step-by-step maintenance and repairs, ultimately reducing costly errors with significant financial implications for businesses.
The Time to Streamline
Efficient field service operations rely on seamless communication and streamlined processes.
Delays from troubleshooting issues or miscommunication between the office and technicians can lead to customer dissatisfaction. Robust management platforms can decrease these challenges by enabling real-time management of personnel, assets, and resources.
For small and midsize businesses, these technologies are essential, forming the foundation of lean, efficient operations that can withstand market uncertainties. Moreover, 5G-powered solutions help future-proof businesses, enabling them to thrive in any economic climate.
The time is now to take steps towards increasing digital adoption. Business owners can think big, but start small. It only takes one step at a time to transform your business, scale and thrive.